Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:19:25.535Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gender and stylistic variation in second language phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2004

Roy C. Major
Roy C. Major
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Communicative competence comprises many things, including the ability to use the appropriate pronunciation, based on gender and style. Previous L2 research in phonology has focused on the frequency of nativelike and nonnative forms and variation within nonnative forms, rather than variation within nativelike forms. This study, however, examines variation in nativelike forms by investigating gender and stylistic differences in the English of native speakers and native speakers of Japanese and Spanish. The results of the native speakers demonstrated that there were significant differences based on gender and style. Both groups of nonnative speakers exhibited significant gender differences but only one group showed significant stylistic differences. The results suggest that gender differences are acquired before stylistic differences.Different versions of this article were delivered at the following conferences: EUROSLA, June 1999 in Lund, Sweden; NWAVE, October 1999 in Toronto, Canada; and SLRF, October 2003 in Tucson, Arizona.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , October 2004 , pp. 169 - 188
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrahamsson, N. (2001). Acquiring L2 syllable margins: Studies on the implication of onsets and codas in interlanguage phonology. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Stockholm University.
Adamson, H. D., & Regan, V. M. (1991). The acquisition of community speech norms by Asian immigrants learning English as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13:1–22.Google Scholar
Beebe, L. M. (1980). Sociolinguistic variation and style shifting in second language acquisition. Language Learning 30:433–447.Google Scholar
Boyle, G. J., & Houndoulesi, V. (1993). Utility of the school motivation analysis test in predicting second language acquisition. British Journal of Educational Psychology 63:500–512.Google Scholar
Brecht, R. D., Davidson, D. E., & Ginsberg, R. B. (1995). Predictors of foreign language gain during study abroad. In B. F. Freed (ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 37–66.
Broeders, A. (1982). Engels in nederlandse oren: Uitspraakvoorkeur bij nederlandse studenten engels. In Toegepaste taalkunde in aritkelen (Vol 9). Amsterdam: Vu Boekhandel. 127–128.
Broselow, E., Chen, S.-I., & Wang, C. (1998). The emergence of the unmarked in second language phonology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 20:261–280.Google Scholar
Broselow, E., & Finer, D. (1991). Parameter setting in second language phonology and syntax. Second Language Research 7:35–59.Google Scholar
Broussard, K. M. (2000). Developmental and transfer influences in elementary bilingual writing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University.
Carlisle, R. S. (1994). Markedness and environment as internal constraints on the variability of interlanguage phonology. In M. Yavas (ed.), First and second language phonology. San Diego, CA: Singular. 223–249.
Carlisle, R. S. (1998). The acquisition of onsets in a markedness relationship: A longitudinal study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 20:245–260.Google Scholar
Carlisle, R. S. (2002). The acquisition of two and three member onsets: Time III of a longitudinal study. In J. Leather and A. James (eds.), New Sounds 2000: Proceedings of the fourth international symposium on the acquisition of second language speech. Klagenfurt, Austria: University of Klagenfurt. 42–47.
Coates, J. (1993). Women, men, and language: A sociolinguistic account of gender differences in language. London: Longman.
Coates, J., & Cameron, D. (eds.). (1989). Women in their speech communities: New perspectives on language and sex. London: Longman.
Dewaele, J. M. (1998). Speech rate variation in two oral styles of advanced French interlanguage. In V. Regan (ed.), Contemporary approaches to second language acquisition in social context: Crosslinguistic perspectives. Dublin, Ireland: University College Dublin. 113–123.
Dickerson, L. B., & Dickerson, W. B. (1977). Interlanguage phonology: Current research and future directions. In S. P. Corder & E. Roulet (eds.), Actes du 5eme colloque de linguistique appliquée. Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Faculté de Lettres. 18–29.
Dörnyei, Z., & Clement, R. (2001). Motivational characteristics of learning different target languages: Results of a nationwide survey. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. 399–432.
Eckert, P. (1989). The whole woman: Sex and gender differences in variation. Language Variation and Change 1:245–267.Google Scholar
Eckert, P. (1996). The whole woman: Sex and gender differences in variation. In D. Brenneis & R. Macaulay (eds.), The matrix of language: Contemporary linguistic anthropology. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 116–137.
Eckman, F. R., & Iverson, G. K. (1993). Sonority and markedness among onset clusters in the interlanguage of ESL learners. Second Language Research 9:234–252.Google Scholar
Eckman, F. R., & Iverson, G. K. (1994). Pronunciation difficulties in ESL: Coda consonants in English interlanguage. In M. Yavas (ed.), First and second language phonology. San Diego, CA: Singular. 251–265.
Eckman, F. R., & Iverson, G. K. (1997). Structure preservation in interlanguage phonology. In S. J. Hannahs & M. Young-Scholten (eds.), Focus on phonological acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 183–207.
Ehrlich, S. (1997). Gender as social practice: Implications for second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19:421–446.Google Scholar
Elliott, A. R. (1995). Field independence/dependence, hemispheric specialization, and attitude in relation to pronunciation accuracy in Spanish as a foreign language. The Modern Language Journal 79:356–371.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (1993). Social factors and second language acquisition. The TESOL ANZ Journal: The Journal of the TESOL Association of Aotearoa New Zealand 1:19–36.Google Scholar
Fischer, J. L. (1958). Social influences on the choice of a linguistic variant. Word 14:47–56.Google Scholar
Frey, E. (1995). Gender specific characteristics of word syllabification: A new aspect for the conceptualization of pronunciation instruction; Geschlechtsspezifische Merkmale bei der Syllabierung von Wortern: ein neuer Aspekt fur die Konzeptionierung von Ausspracheschulung. Zilesprach Deutsch 26:136–142.Google Scholar
Furo, H. (2000). Listening responses in Japanese and US English: Gender and social interaction. In B. Swierzbin, F. Morris, M. E. Anderson, C. A. Klee, & E. Tarone (eds.), Social and cognitive factors in second language acquisition: Selected proceedings of the 1999 Second Language Research Forum. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla. 445–457.
Gass, S. M., & Varonis, E. M. (1986). Sex differences in NNS/NNS interactions. In R. R. Day (ed.), Talking to learn: Conversation in second language acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. 327–351.
Gatbonton, E. (1975). Systematic variations in second language speech: A sociolinguistic study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.
Gatbonton, E. (1978). Patterned phonetic variability in second-language speech: A gradual diffusion model. Canadian Modern Language Review 34:335–347.Google Scholar
Gussenhoven, C. (1979). Pronunciation preference among Dutch students. Paper presented at the Second International Conference on the Teaching of Spoken English, University of Leeds.
Haas, M. (1944). Men's and women's speech in Koasati. Language 20:142–149.Google Scholar
Haeri, N. (1987). Male/female differences in speech: An alternative interpretation. In K. M. Denning, S. Inkelas, F. C. McNair-Knox, & J. R. Rickford (eds.), Variation in language NWAV XV at Stanford: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference on New Ways of Analyzing Variation. Stanford, CA: Department of Linguistics, Stanford University. 173–182.
Hancin-Bhatt, B. (2000). Optimality in second language phonology: Codas in Thai ESL. Second Language Research 16:201–232.Google Scholar
Hancin-Bhatt, B., & Bhatt, R. M. (1997). Optimal L2 syllables: Interactions of transfer and developmental effects. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19:331–378.Google Scholar
Hiang, T. C., & Gupta, A. F. (1992). Postvocalic /r/ in Singapore English. York Papers in Linguistics 16: 139–152.Google Scholar
Jewell, C. M. (1992). Gender roles and second language acquisition in Hmong acculturation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University, Morgantown.
Johansson, F. A. (1973). Immigrant Swedish phonology. Lund, Sweden: Gleerup.
Johnson, D. M. (1992). Interpersonal involvement in discourse: Gender variation in L2 writers' complementing strategies. Journal of Second Language Writing 1:195–215.Google Scholar
Kasanga, L. A. (1996). Effect of gender on the rate of interaction: Some implications for second language acquisition and classroom practice. Review of Applied Linguistics 111–112: 155–192.Google Scholar
Kasper, G., & Schmidt, R. (1996). Developmental issues in interlanguage pragmatics. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 18:149–169.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1966). The social stratification of English in New York City. Arlington, VA: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lakoff, R. (1975). Language and woman's place. New York: Harper & Row.
Lambert, W. E., & Klineberg, O. (1967). Children's views of foreign peoples: A cross-national study. New York: Appleton Century Crofts.
Levine, A., & Reves, T. (1990). Does the method of vocabulary presentation make a difference? TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL du Canada 8:37–51.Google Scholar
Lin, Y.-H. (2001). Syllable simplification strategies: A stylistic perspective. Language Learning 51:681–718.Google Scholar
Luthin, H. W. (1987). The story of California (ow): The coming-of-age of English in California. In K. M. Denning, S. Inkelas, F. C. McNair-Knox, & J. R. Rickford (eds.), Variation in language NWAV XV at Stanford: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference on New Ways of Analyzing Variation. Stanford, CA: Department of Linguistics, Stanford University. 312–324.
Major, R. C. (1987). A model for interlanguage phonology. In G. Ioup & S. H. Weinberger (eds.), Interlanguage phonology: The acquisition of a second language sound system. New York: Newbury House/Harper & Row. 101–125.
Major, R. C. (1996). Markedness in second language acquisition of consonant clusters. In R. Bayley & D. R. Preston (eds.), Variation linguistics and second language acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 75–96.
Major, R. C. (2001). Foreign accent: The ontogeny and phylogeny of second language phonology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Major, R. C. (2002). The phonology of the L2 user. In V. Cook (ed.), Portraits of the L2 user. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 65–94.
Maltz, D., & Borker, R. (1982). A cultural approach to male-female miscommunication. In J. J. Gumperz (ed.), Language and social identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 195–216.
Milroy, L. (1988). Gender as a speaker variable: The interesting case of the Glottalised stops in Tyneside. York Papers in Linguistics 13: Selected papers from the sociolinguistics symposium.
Nemser, W. (1971a). Approximative systems of foreign learners. International Review of Applied Linguistics 9:115–124.Google Scholar
Nemser, W. (1971b). An experimental study of phonological interference in the English of Hungarians. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Oxford, R. L. (1993). Gender differences in styles and strategies for language learning: What do they mean? Should we pay attention? Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 541–557.
Petrenko, A. D. (1989). Stilistische Varianten der Aussprache im Fremdsprachenunterricht [Stylistic variants of pronunciation in second language instruction]. Deutsch als Fremdsprache 26:267–272.Google Scholar
Pica, Y., Holliday, L., Lewis, N., & Morgenthaler, L. (1989). Comprehensible output as an outcome of linguistic demands on the learner. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 11:63–90.Google Scholar
Preston, D. R. (1989). Sociolinguistics and second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell.
Rissel, D. A. (1989). Sex, attitudes, and the assibilation of /r/ among young people in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Language Variation and Change 1:269–283.Google Scholar
Rogers, E. M. (1999). An investigation of the effects of collaborative, computer-mediated communication and non-collaborative, computer-assisted writing skills practice on L2 writing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Roman, C., Juhasz, S., & Miller, C. (eds.). (1994). The women and language debate: A sourcebook. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Sankoff, D., & Cedergren, H. (1971). Some results of a sociolinguistic study of Montreal French. In R. Darnell (ed.), Linguistic diversity in Canadian society. Edmonton: Linguistic Research. 61–87.
Sato, C. J. (1985). Task variation in interlanguage phonology. In S. M. Gass & C. G. Madden (eds.), Input in second language acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. 181–196.
Scarcella, R., & Zimmerman, C. (1998). Academic words and gender: ESL student performance on a test of academic lexicon. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 20:27–49.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. W. (1977). Sociolinguistic variation and language transfer in phonology. Working Papers in Bilingualism 12:79–95.Google Scholar
Schueller, J. M. (2000). The effects of two types of strategic training on foreign language reading comprehension: An analysis by gender and proficiency. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Shibamoto, J. (1987). The womanly woman: Manipulation of stereotypical and nonstereotypical features of Japanese female speech. In S. Philips, S. Steele, & C. Tanz (eds.), Language, gender, and sex in comparative perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 26–49.
Slavoff, G. R., & Johnson, J. S. (1995). The effects of age on the rate of learning a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 17:1–16.Google Scholar
Smith, P. M. (1979). Sex markers in speech. In K. R. Scherer & H. Giles (eds.), Social markers in speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 109–146.
Syed, Z. (2001). Notions of self in foreign language learning: A qualitative analysis. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. 127–148.
Tahta, S., Wood, M., & Loewenthal, K. (1981). Foreign accents: Factors relating to transfer of accent from the first language to a second language. Language and Speech 24:265–272.Google Scholar
Tannen, D. (1990). You just don't understand: Women and men in conversation. New York: Morrow.
Tannen, D. (ed.). (1993). Gender and conversational interaction. New York: Ballantine.
Tarone, E. (1979). Interlanguage as chameleon. Language Learning 29:181–191.Google Scholar
Tarone, E. (1982). Systematicity and attention in interlanguage. Language Learning 32:69–82.Google Scholar
Tarone, E. (1983). On the variability of interlanguage systems. Applied Linguistics 4:142–164.Google Scholar
Tarone, E. (1988). Variation in interlanguage. London: Edward Arnold.
Tran, T. V. (1988). Sex differences in English language acculturation and learning strategies among Vietnamese adults aged 40 and over in the United States. Sex Roles 19:747–758.Google Scholar
Trudgill, P. (1974). The social differentiation of English in Norwich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Trudgill, P. (1984). Sex and covert prestige: Linguistic change. In J. Baugh & J. Sherzer (eds.), Language in use: Readings in sociolinguistics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 54–66.
Wardhaugh, R. (2001). An introduction to sociolinguistics, ( 4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
Weinberger, S. H. (1987). The influence of linguistic context on syllable simplification. In G. Ioup & S. H. Weinberger (eds.), Interlanguage phonology: The acquisition of a second language sound system. New York: Newbury House/Harper & Row. 401–417.
Weinberger, S. H. (1994). Functional and phonetic constraints on second language phonology. In M. Yavas (ed.), First and second language phonology. San Diego: Singular. 283–302.
Weiss, L. (1970). Auditory discrimination and pronunciation of French vowel phonemes. Dissertation Abstracts International 31:4051–A.Google Scholar
Wenk, B. J. (1979). Articulatory setting and de-fossilization. Interlanguage Studies Bulletin 4:202–220.Google Scholar
Wenk, B. J. (1983). Articulatory setting and the acquisition of second language phonology. Revue de Phonetique Appliquée 65:5–65.Google Scholar
Wilson, D., & Møllergard, E. (1981). Errors in the production of vowel no. 10 /[caret ]/ by Norwegian learners of English. International Review of Applied Linguistics 19:69–76.Google Scholar
Woolard, K. A. (1997). Between friends: Gender, peer group structure, and bilingualism in urban Catalonia. Language in Society 26:533–560.Google Scholar
Xu, L. (2001). The neurolinguistic significance of gender differences to the establishment of optimized second language acquisition strategies. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching 6:6–8.Google Scholar